Downlink (DL) coordinated beamforming protocols for WiFi

ABSTRACT

Certain aspects relate to methods and apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus generally includes a first interface configured to output one first frame for transmission to solicit CSI feedback from each of one or more first wireless nodes associated with a first BSS and from each of one or more second wireless nodes associated with a second BSS, a second interface configured to obtain the CSI feedback solicited from the first and second wireless nodes, and a processing system configured to generate data frames for the first wireless nodes based on the CSI feedback solicited from the first wireless nodes, and one or more nulling frames based on the CSI feedback solicited from the second wireless nodes. The first interface is configured to simultaneously output the data frames for beamformed transmission to the first wireless nodes, and the nulling frames for beamformed transmission to the second wireless nodes.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 119

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/536,413, filed Jul. 24, 2017, which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, andmore particularly, to methods and apparatus for downlink (DL)coordinated beamforming protocols using communications systems operatingaccording to wireless technologies.

Description of Related Art

In order to address the issue of increasing bandwidth requirements thatare demanded for wireless communication systems, different schemes arebeing developed to allow multiple user terminals to communicate with asingle access point (AP) or multiple APs by sharing the channelresources while achieving high data throughputs. Multiple Input MultipleOutput (MIMO) technology represents one such approach that has recentlyemerged as a popular technique for the next generation communicationsystems.

A MIMO system employs multiple (NT) transmit antennas and multiple (NR)receive antennas for data transmission. A MIMO channel formed by the NTtransmit and NR receive antennas may be decomposed into NS independentchannels, which are also referred to as spatial channels, whereN_(S)≤min {N_(T), N_(R)}. Each of the NS independent channelscorresponds to a dimension. The MIMO system can provide improvedperformance (such as higher throughput and greater reliability) if theadditional dimensionalities created by the multiple transmit and receiveantennas are utilized.

In wireless networks with multiple APs and multiple user stations(STAs), concurrent transmissions may occur on multiple channels towarddifferent STAs, both in uplink and downlink directions. Many challengesare present in such systems. For example, the AP may transmit signalsusing different standards such as the IEEE 802.11n/a/b/g or the IEEE802.11ac (Very High Throughput (VHT)) standards. A receiver STA may beable to detect a transmission mode of the signal based on informationincluded in a preamble of the transmission packet.

A downlink multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) system based on Spatial DivisionMultiple Access (SDMA) transmission can simultaneously serve a pluralityof spatially separated STAs by applying beamforming at the AP's antennaarray. Complex transmit precoding weights can be calculated by the APbased on channel state information (CSI) received from each of thesupported STAs.

In a distributed MU-MIMO system, multiple APs may simultaneously serve aplurality of spatially separated STAs by coordinating beamforming by theantennas of the multiple APs. For example, multiple APs may coordinatetransmissions to each STA.

As the demand for wireless access continues to increase, there exists adesire for further improvements in wireless technology. Preferably,these improvements should be applicable to other multi-accesstechnologies and the communication standards that employ thesetechnologies.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have severalaspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirableattributes. Without limiting the scope of this disclosure as expressedby the claims which follow, some features will now be discussed briefly.After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading thesection entitled “Detailed Description” one will understand how thefeatures of this disclosure provide advantages that include improvedcommunications between access points and stations in a wireless network.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communication. Theapparatus generally includes a first interface configured to output atleast one first frame for transmission to solicit a sounding frame fromeach of one or more first wireless nodes associated with a first basicservice set (BSS) and each of one or more second wireless nodesassociated with a second BSS; a second interface configured to obtainthe sounding frames from each of the first and second wireless nodes;and a processing system configured to perform uplink channel estimationfor each of the first and second wireless nodes based on the soundingframes, generate one or more data frames for the first wireless nodesbased on the uplink channel estimation performed for the first wirelessnodes, and generate one or more nulling frames based on the uplinkchannel estimation performed for the second wireless nodes. The firstinterface is also configured to simultaneously output the data framesfor beamformed transmission to the first wireless nodes, and the nullingframes for beamformed transmission to the second wireless nodes.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communication. Theapparatus generally includes a first interface configured to output atleast one first frame for transmission to solicit a sounding frame fromeach of one or more first wireless nodes associated with a first basicservice set (BSS) and each of one or more second wireless nodesassociated with a second BSS; a second interface configured to obtainthe sounding frames from each of the first and second wireless nodes;and a processing system configured to perform uplink channel estimationfor each of the first and second wireless nodes based on the soundingframes, generate one or more data frames for the first wireless nodesbased on the uplink channel estimation performed for the first wirelessnodes, and generate one or more nulling frames based on the uplinkchannel estimation performed for the second wireless nodes. The firstinterface is also configured to simultaneously output the data framesfor beamformed transmission to the first wireless nodes, and the nullingframes for beamformed transmission to the second wireless nodes.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communication. Theapparatus generally includes a first interface configured to obtain atleast one first frame from a first wireless node associated with a firstbasic service set (BSS) and to obtain at least one second from awireless node associated with a second BSS; a processing systemconfigured to generate first channel state information (CSI) feedbackbased on the first frame and to generate second CSI feedback based onthe second frame; and a second interface configured to output the firstCSI feedback for transmission to the first wireless node and to outputthe first CSI feedback for transmission to the first wireless node.

Aspects generally include methods, apparatus, systems, computer readablemediums, and processing systems, as substantially described herein withreference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. Numerousother aspects are provided.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description,briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some ofwhich are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted,however, that the appended drawings illustrate only certain typicalaspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to be consideredlimiting of its scope, for the description may admit to other equallyeffective aspects.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example wireless communications network, inaccordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example access point and examplestations, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example wireless device, in accordance withcertain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a distributed multi-usermultiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO) system), in accordance withcertain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A illustrates a communication system using coordinated downlink(DL) multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO), in accordancewith certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B illustrates a communication system using coordinated uplink (UL)multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO), in accordance withcertain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a line graph indicating example transmission rates versus pathloss, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of example operations for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7A illustrates example components capable of performing theoperations shown in FIG. 7, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of example operations for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8A illustrates example components capable of performing theoperations shown in FIG. 8, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a communication protocol for coordinated beamforming(CoBF) including explicit sounding, in accordance with certain aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a communication protocol for CoBF including explicitsounding, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a communication protocol for CoBF including explicitsounding, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a communication protocol for CoBF including explicitsounding, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a communication protocol for CoBF including explicitsounding, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a communication protocol for CoBF including explicitsounding, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of example operations for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 15A illustrates example components capable of performing theoperations shown in FIG. 15, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates a communication protocol including implicitsounding, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates a communication protocol including implicitsounding, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspectmay be beneficially utilized on other aspects without specificrecitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may,however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construedas limited to any specific structure or function presented throughoutthis disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on theteachings herein one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scopeof the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosuredisclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined withany other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may beimplemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspectsset forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intendedto cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. Itshould be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed hereinmay be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous overother aspects.

Although particular aspects are described herein, many variations andpermutations of these aspects fall within the scope of the disclosure.Although some benefits and advantages of the preferred aspects arementioned, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limited toparticular benefits, uses, or objectives. Rather, aspects of thedisclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to different wirelesstechnologies, system configurations, networks, and transmissionprotocols, some of which are illustrated by way of example in thefigures and in the following description of the preferred aspects. Thedetailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of thedisclosure rather than limiting, the scope of the disclosure beingdefined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

The following description is directed to certain implementations for thepurposes of describing the innovative aspects of this disclosure.However, a person having ordinary skill in the art will readilyrecognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a multitude ofdifferent ways. The described implementations may be implemented in anydevice, system or network that is capable of transmitting and receivingRF signals according to any of the IEEE 16.11 standards, or any of theIEEE 802.11 standards, the Bluetooth® standard, code division multipleaccess (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM),GSM/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment(EDGE), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA),Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1×EV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B,High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed Downlink Packet Access(HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High SpeedPacket Access (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), AMPS, or other knownsignals that are used to communicate within a wireless, cellular orinternet of things (IOT) network, such as a system utilizing 3G, 4G or5G, or further implementations thereof, technology.

The techniques described herein may be used for various broadbandwireless communication systems, including communication systems that arebased on a single carrier transmission. Aspects may be, for example,advantageous to systems employing Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) signalsincluding millimeter-wave signals. However, this disclosure is notintended to be limited to such systems, as other coded signals maybenefit from similar advantages.

The techniques may be incorporated into (such as implemented within orperformed by) a variety of wired or wireless apparatuses (such asnodes). In some implementations, a node includes a wireless node. Such awireless node may provide, for example, connectivity to or for a network(such as a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet or a cellularnetwork) via a wired or wireless communication link. In someimplementations, a wireless node may include an access point or a userterminal.

Multiple APs may transmit to multiple receiving user terminals at a timeby using distributed multi-user multiple input multiple output(MU-MIMO). For example, multiple APs may transmit data to a given userterminal at a time, meaning the transmission of data to the userterminal is distributed between the multiple APs. The multiple APs mayutilize beamforming to steer signals spatially to the user terminal. Insome implementations, for the multiple APs to perform distributedMU-MIMO, the multiple APs coordinate the beamforming performed by eachAP to reduce interference for transmitting data to the user terminal. Insome implementations, the multiple APs perform a procedure to form agroup of APs to transmit to the user terminal, as discussed herein.Further, in some implementations, to coordinate the beamforming betweenthe multiple APs, the multiple APs perform a sounding procedure togather feedback information from the user terminal about wirelesschannels between the multiple APs and the user terminal, as discussedherein. The multiple APs may utilize the feedback information to performbeamforming.

Particular implementations of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the followingpotential advantages. For example, APs are able to form a group fortransmitting to a user terminal using over the air signaling as opposedto communicating over a backhaul. This may reduce data congestion on thebackhaul. Additionally, the sounding procedures may allow forcoordinated gathering of feedback information by multiple APs from userterminals. Accordingly, the feedback information for the multiple APsmay include channel conditions for each of the multiple APs coordinatedin time, which may improve the accuracy of the beamforming based on thefeedback information. Furthermore, the sounding procedures may limit theamount of data exchanged wirelessly to perform the sounding procedures,which may reduce bandwidth usage of wireless channels.

Example Wireless Communication System

FIG. 1 illustrates a multiple-access Multiple Input Multiple Output(MIMO) system 100 with access points and user terminals. For simplicity,only one access point 110 is shown in FIG. 1. An access point (AP) isgenerally a fixed station that communicates with the user terminals andalso may be referred to as a base station or some other terminology. Auser terminal may be fixed or mobile and also may be referred to as amobile station, a station (STA), a client, a wireless device, or someother terminology. A user terminal may be a wireless device, such as acellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device, awireless modem, a laptop computer, a personal computer, etc.

The access point 110 may communicate with one or more user terminals 120at any given moment on the downlink and uplink. The downlink (i.e.,forward link) is the communication link from the access point to theuser terminals, and the uplink (i.e., reverse link) is the communicationlink from the user terminals to the access point. A user terminal alsomay communicate peer-to-peer with another user terminal. A systemcontroller 130 couples to and provides coordination and control for theaccess points.

The MIMO system 100 employs multiple transmit and multiple receiveantennas for data transmission on the downlink and uplink. The accesspoint 110 is equipped with a number N_(ap) of antennas and representsthe multiple-input (MI) for downlink transmissions and themultiple-output (MO) for uplink transmissions. A set N_(u) of selecteduser terminals 120 collectively represents the multiple-output fordownlink transmissions and the multiple-input for uplink transmissions.In some implementations, it may be desirable to have N_(ap)≥N_(u)≥1 ifthe data symbol streams for the N_(u) user terminals are not multiplexedin code, frequency or time by some means. N_(u) may be greater thanN_(ap) if the data symbol streams can be multiplexed using differentcode channels with CDMA, disjoint sets of sub-bands with OFDM, and soon. Each selected user terminal transmits user-specific data to andreceives user-specific data from the access point. In general, eachselected user terminal may be equipped with one or multiple antennas(i.e., N_(ut)≥1). The N_(u) selected user terminals can have the same ordifferent number of antennas.

The MIMO system 100 may be a time division duplex (TDD) system or afrequency division duplex (FDD) system. For a TDD system, the downlinkand uplink share the same frequency band. For an FDD system, thedownlink and uplink use different frequency bands. The MIMO system 100also may utilize a single carrier or multiple carriers for transmission.Each user terminal may be equipped with a single antenna (such as inorder to keep costs down) or multiple antennas (such as where theadditional cost can be supported). The MIMO system 100 may represent ahigh speed Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) operating in a 60 GHzband.

FIG. 2 illustrates example components of the access point 110 andstation 120 illustrated in FIG. 1, which may be used to implementaspects of the present disclosure. One or more components of the accesspoint 110 and station 120 may be used to practice aspects of the presentdisclosure. For example, antenna 224, transmitter/receiver unit 222,processors 210, 220, 240, 242, and/or controller 230 or antenna 252,transmitter/receiver 254, processors 260, 270, 288, and 290, and/orcontroller 280 may be used to perform the operations described hereinand illustrated with reference to FIGS. 7, 7A, 8, 8A, 15, and 15A.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the access point/base station 110 andtwo user terminals/user equipments 120 m and 120 x in a MIMO system 100.The access point 110 is equipped with N_(ap) antennas 224 a through 224ap. The user terminal 120 m is equipped with N_(ut,m) antennas 252 mathrough 252 mu, and the user terminal 120 x is equipped with N_(ut,x)antennas 252 xa through 252 xu. The access point 110 is a transmittingentity for the downlink and a receiving entity for the uplink. Each userterminal 120 is a transmitting entity for the uplink and a receivingentity for the downlink. As used herein, a “transmitting entity” is anindependently operated apparatus or device capable of transmitting datavia a frequency channel, and a “receiving entity” is an independentlyoperated apparatus or device capable of receiving data via a frequencychannel. In the following description, the subscript “dn” denotes thedownlink, the subscript “up” denotes the uplink, N_(up) user terminalsare selected for simultaneous transmission on the uplink, and N_(dn)user terminals are selected for simultaneous transmission on thedownlink. Moreover, N_(up) may or may not be equal to N_(dn), andN_(up), and N_(dn) may include static values or can change for eachscheduling interval. Beamforming (such as beam-steering) or some otherspatial processing techniques may be used at the access point and userterminal.

On the uplink, at each user terminal 120 selected for uplinktransmission, a TX data processor 288 receive traffic data from a datasource 286 and control data from a controller 280. The controller 280may be coupled with a memory 282. The TX data processor 288 processes(such as encodes, interleaves, and modulates) the traffic data{d_(up,m)} for the user terminal based on the coding and modulationschemes associated with the rate selected for the user terminal andprovides a data symbol stream {s_(up,m)}. A TX spatial processor 290performs spatial processing on the data symbol stream {s_(up,m)} andprovides N_(ut,m) transmit symbol streams for the N_(ut,m) antennas.Each transmitter unit (TMTR) 254 receives and processes (such asconverts to analog, amplifies, filters, and frequency upconverts) arespective transmit symbol stream to generate an uplink signal. TheN_(ut,m) transmitter units 254 provide N_(ut,m) uplink signals fortransmission from the N_(ut,m) antennas 252 to the access point 110.

A number N_(up) of user terminals may be scheduled for simultaneoustransmission on the uplink. Each of these user terminals performsspatial processing on its data symbol stream and transmits its set oftransmit symbol streams on the uplink to the access point.

At the access point 110, the N_(ap) antennas 224 a through 224 apreceive the uplink signals from all N_(up) user terminals transmittingon the uplink. Each antenna 224 provides a received signal to arespective receiver unit (RCVR) 222. Each receiver unit 222 performsprocessing complementary to that performed by the transmitter unit 254and provides a received symbol stream. An RX spatial processor 240performs receiver spatial processing on the N_(ap) received symbolstreams from the N_(ap) receiver units 222 and provides N_(up) recovereduplink data symbol streams. The receiver spatial processing is performedin accordance with the channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI),minimum mean square error (MMSE), successive interference cancellation(SIC), or some other technique. Each recovered uplink data symbol stream{s_(up,m)} is an estimate of a data symbol stream {s_(up,m)} transmittedby a respective user terminal. An RX data processor 242 processes (suchas demodulates, de-interleaves, and decodes) each recovered uplink datasymbol stream {s_(up,m)} in accordance with the rate used for thatstream to obtain decoded data. The decoded data for each user terminalmay be provided to a data sink 244 for storage and a controller 230 forfurther processing.

On the downlink, at the access point 110, a TX data processor 210receives traffic data from a data source 208 for N_(dn) user terminalsscheduled for downlink transmission, control data from a controller 230,and possibly other data from a scheduler 234. The various types of datamay be sent on different transport channels. The TX data processor 210processes (such as encodes, interleaves, and modulates) the traffic datafor each user terminal based on the rate selected for that userterminal. The TX data processor 210 provides N_(dn) downlink data symbolstreams for the N_(dn) user terminals. A TX spatial processor 220performs spatial processing on the N_(dn) downlink data symbol streams,and provides N_(ap) transmit symbol streams for the N_(ap) antennas.Each transmitter unit (TMTR) 222 receives and processes a respectivetransmit symbol stream to generate a downlink signal. The N_(ap)transmitter units 222 provide N_(ap) downlink signals for transmissionfrom the N_(ap) antennas 224 to the user terminals. The decoded data foreach STA may be provided to a data sink 272 for storage and/or acontroller 280 for further processing.

At each user terminal 120, the N_(ut,m) antennas 252 receive the N_(ap)downlink signals from the access point 110. Each receiver unit (RCVR)254 processes a received signal from an associated antenna 252 andprovides a received symbol stream. An RX spatial processor 260 performsreceiver spatial processing on N_(ut,m) received symbol streams from theN_(ut,m) receiver units 254 and provides a recovered downlink datasymbol stream {s_(dn,m)} for the user terminal. The receiver spatialprocessing can be performed in accordance with the CCMI, MMSE, or otherknown techniques. An RX data processor 270 processes (such asdemodulates, de-interleaves, and decodes) the recovered downlink datasymbol stream to obtain decoded data for the user terminal.

At each user terminal 120, the N_(ut,m) antennas 252 receive the N_(ap)downlink signals from the access point 110. Each receiver unit (RCVR)254 processes a received signal from an associated antenna 252 andprovides a received symbol stream. An RX spatial processor 260 performsreceiver spatial processing on N_(ut,m) received symbol streams from theN_(ut,m) receiver units 254 and provides a recovered downlink datasymbol stream {s_(dn,m)} for the user terminal. The receiver spatialprocessing is performed in accordance with the CCMI, MMSE, or some othertechnique. An RX data processor 270 processes (such as demodulates,de-interleaves, and decodes) the recovered downlink data symbol streamto obtain decoded data for the user terminal.

FIG. 3 illustrates various components that may be utilized in a wirelessdevice 302 that may be employed within the MIMO system 100. The wirelessdevice 302 is an example of a device that may be configured to implementthe various methods described herein. The wireless device 302 may be anaccess point 110 or a user terminal 120.

The wireless device 302 may include a processor 304 which controlsoperation of the wireless device 302. The processor 304 also may bereferred to as a central processing unit (CPU). Memory 306, which mayinclude both read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM),provides instructions and data to the processor 304. A portion of thememory 306 also may include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).The processor 304 typically performs logical and arithmetic operationsbased on program instructions stored within the memory 306. Theinstructions in the memory 306 may be executable to implement themethods described herein.

The wireless device 302 also may include a housing 308 that may includea transmitter 310 and a receiver 312 to allow transmission and receptionof data between the wireless device 302 and a remote location. Thetransmitter 310 and the receiver 312 may be combined into a transceiver314. A plurality of transmit antennas 316 may be attached to the housing308 and electrically coupled to the transceiver 314. The wireless device302 also may include (not shown) multiple transmitters, multiplereceivers, and multiple transceivers.

The wireless device 302 also may include a signal detector 318 that maybe used in an effort to detect and quantify the level of signalsreceived by the transceiver 314. The signal detector 318 may detect suchsignals as total energy, energy per subcarrier per symbol, powerspectral density and other signals. The wireless device 302 also mayinclude a digital signal processor (DSP) 320 for use in processingsignals.

The various components of the wireless device 302 may be coupledtogether by a bus system 322, which may include a power bus, a controlsignal bus, and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus.

Example Distributed MU-MIMO

As discussed with respect to FIGS. 1-3, a single AP 110 may transmit tomultiple receiving user terminals 120 at a time by using multi-user MIMO(MU-MIMO). In particular, the AP 110 includes multiple antennas 224.Using the multiple antennas 224, the AP 110 can utilize beamforming tofocus the energy of a transmitted signal spatially (such as to aparticular user terminal 120 as a spatial stream). In order to performbeamforming, the AP 110 may exchange frames with the user terminal 120to measure a channel between the AP 110 and the user terminal 120. Forexample, the AP 110 may transmit a null data packet (NDP) including oneor more long training fields (LTFs) that the user terminal 120 uses tomeasure the channel. The user terminal 120 may generate a channelfeedback information (such as a feedback matrix) based on the channelmeasurements, and send the feedback matrix to the AP 110. Using thefeedback matrix, the AP 110 may derive a steering matrix, which is usedto determine how to transmit a signal on each antenna 224 of the AP 110to perform beamforming. For example, the steering matrix may beindicative of a phase shift, power level, etc. to transmit a signal oneach of the antennas 224. For example, the AP 110 may be configured toperform similar beamforming techniques as described in the 802.11acstandard.

In some implementations, multiple APs 110 may be configured to transmitto one or more receiving user terminals 120 at a time utilizingdistributed MU-MIMO. There may be multiple different types of MU-MIMOtransmissions, including coordinated beamforming (CoBF) and jointprocessing transmission (JT).

FIG. 4 illustrates a distributed MU-MIMO system 400. As shown, system400 includes an AP 110 a and an AP 110 b. The APs 110 a and 110 b, insome implementations, refer back to the AP 110 described with respect toFIG. 1. The AP 110 a is shown as part of a first basic service set(BSS), BSS1, and the AP 110 b is shown as part of a second BSS, BSS2.The AP 110 a and the AP 110 b may be neighboring APs. Further, portionsof the coverage area of the AP 110 a may overlap with portions of thecoverage area of BSS2, leading to an overlapping BSS (OBSS) situation.Communications by the AP 110 a with user terminals in BSS1 may bereferred to as in BSS communications. Similarly, communication by the AP110 b with user terminals in BSS2 may be referred to as in BSScommunications. Further, communications by the AP 110 a with userterminals in BSS2 may be referred to as OBSS communications, andcommunications by the AP 110 b with user terminals in BSS1 may bereferred to as OBSS communications.

In CoBF, signals (such as data) for a given user terminal may betransmitted by only a single AP. For example, the user terminals 120 aand 120 b are shown as part of BSS1 and therefore only the AP 110 a maytransmit signals intended for the user terminals 120 a and 120 b.Further, user terminals 120 c and 120 d are shown as part of BSS2 andtherefore only the AP 110 b may transmit signal intended for the userterminals 120 c and 120 d. The user terminals 120 a through 120 d, insome implementations, refer back to the user terminal 120 described withrespect to FIG. 1. However, as discussed the coverage area of the AP 110a and the AP 110 b may overlap, and therefore signals transmitted by theAP 110 a may reach the user terminals 120 c and 120 d in BSS2 as OBSSsignals. Similarly, signals transmitted by the AP 110 b may reach theuser terminals 120 a and 120 d in BSS1 as OBSS signals. In CoBF, the APs110 a and 110 b may be configured to perform beamforming to form nullsin the direction of user terminals in OBSS, such that any signalsreceived at an OBSS user terminal are of a low power. For example, theAP 110 a may be configured to perform beamforming to form nulls towardthe user terminals 120 c and 120 d, and the AP 110 b may be configuredto form nulls toward the user terminals 120 a and 120 b to limit theinterference at the user terminals. Accordingly, in CoBF, APs areconfigured to form nulls for OBSS user terminals and configured tobeamform signals to in-BSS user terminals.

In JT, signals for a given user terminal may be transmitted by multipleAPs. For example, one or more of user terminals 120 a through 120 d mayreceive signals from both the AP 110 a and the AP 110 b. For themultiple APs to transmit data to a user terminal, the multiple APs mayall need a copy of the data to be transmitted to the user terminal.Accordingly, the APs may need to exchange the data (such as through abackhaul) between each other for transmission to a user terminal. Forexample, the AP 110 a may have data to transmit to user terminal 120 a,and may further communicate that data over a backhaul to the AP 110 b.The AP 110 a and the AP 110 b may then beamform signals including thedata to the user terminal 120 a.

In some implementations, in JT, the antennas of the multiple APstransmitting to one or more user terminals may be considered as onelarge antenna array (such as virtual antenna array) used for beamformingand transmitting signals. Accordingly, similar beamforming techniques asdiscussed and used for transmitting from multiple antennas of a singleAP to one or more user terminals, may instead be used for transmittingfrom multiple antennas of multiple APs. For example, the samebeamforming, calculating of steering matrices, etc. for transmittingfrom multiple antennas of the AP 110 a, may be applied to transmittingfrom the multiple antennas of both the AP 110 a and the AP 110 b. Themultiple antennas of the multiple APs may be able to form signals on aplurality of spatial streams (such as limited by the number ofantennas). Accordingly, each user terminal may receive signals on one ormore of the plurality of spatial streams. In some implementations, eachAP may be allocated a certain number of the plurality of spatial streamsfor transmission to user terminals in the BSS of the AP. Each spatialstream may be identified by a spatial stream index.

In some implementations, various factors may affect distributed MU-MIMO.For example, one factor may be channel feedback accuracy. As discussed,to perform beamforming APs may exchange signals with user terminals overa communication channel, and the user terminals may make measurements ofthe channel based on the exchanged signals. The user terminals mayfurther send information regarding the channel measurements to the APsas channel feedback information. The APs may utilize the channelfeedback information to perform beamforming. However, the channelconditions may change between when the APs receive the channel feedbackinformation and when the APs actually transmit signals on the channel.This may be referred to as channel aging. Further, there may beinaccuracy due to quantization of the information included in thechannel feedback information. This may impact both CoBF and JTdistributed MU-MIMO and lead to leakage and interference.

Another factor may be phase offsets between APs. For example, APs maytransmit with different phases due to timing synchronization differencesbetween the APs. Further, the difference in phases may drift or change(such as due to phase noise, timing drift, carrier frequency offset(CFO) drift, etc.) between when the channel feedback information isreceived and when the APs transmit to the user terminals. This change inphase difference may not affect CoBF significantly as each AP performsbeamforming independently. However, this change in phase difference mayaffect JT as the APs perform beamforming together.

Another factor may be timing offset. For example, the delay spread,filter delay, and arrival time spread of APs using JT and CoBF may needto be absorbed with a cyclic prefix (CP). For JT, additionally, therelative timing offset (i.e., the change in timing offset between whenthe channel feedback information is measured and when the signals aretransmitted) also may affect phase offsets and may need to be furthercontrolled.

Another factor may be CFO. In CoBF, the synchronization requirements forCFO may be reduced as compared to JT. Another factor may be gainmismatch, where different APs use different gain states while measuringchannels of user terminals. This may have a larger effect on JT thanCoBF. In some implementations of CoBF, the largest gain may beapproximately 75% of the minimum of number of transmit antennas of anyof the APs. In some implementations of JT, the largest gain may beapproximately 75% of the sum of the transmit antennas of all the APs.

In some implementations, in MU-MIMO for a single AP transmitting tomultiple user terminals, to perform channel measurements forbeamforming, all the transmit antennas of the AP are sounded together,meaning that all the transmit antennas transmit NDP during the sametransmission time interval (such as TTI, frame, subframe, etc.). Allantennas may be sounded together, because if NDPs for each antenna weretransmitted at different TTIs, they may be transmitted with differentphases and the receiver automatic gain control (RxAGC) at each userterminal receiving the NDPs may be different for different TTIs, whichmay make it difficult to stitch together measurements from the differentNDPs. Further, the relative timing among all transmit antennas fortransmitting NDP at the same TTI is constant for all the transmitantennas, and remains the same for when the NDP is transmitted and forwhen data is later transmitted to the user terminals based on channelfeedback information. Therefore, there is no change in relative timingbetween NDP transmission and data transmission, thereby ensuring betterbeamforming.

In some implementations, all antennas for multiple APs may be soundedtogether to transmit NDP together at the same TTI for JT in a jointsounding procedure, to avoid issues discussed. In some implementations,the NDPs of different APs may be sounding at the same TTI using one ormore techniques such as time-division multiplexing (TDM), code-divisionmultiplexing (CDM) (such as using a P-matrix), and frequency-divisionmultiplexing (FDM).

For CoBF, the beamforming direction of one AP does not depend on thechannels between user terminals and other APs. Accordingly, only loosesynchronization may be needed between APs. Therefore, for CoBF, inaddition to being able to use a joint sounding procedure, a sequentialsounding procedure can be used where APs sound one at a time in separateTTIs and transmit NDPs at different TTIs per AP.

Example Coordinated Downlink (DL) and Uplink (UL) Communications

In downlink (DL) multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO),multiple stations may belong to one basic service set (BSS) transmittingin the DL. Other BSSs (OBSSs) within “hearing” range may defer (nottransmit on the medium) in response to detecting an on-goingtransmission. Different BSSs in hearing range of each other may usetime-divisional multiplexing (TDM) to transmit in the DL. In coordinatedUL MU-MIMO, multiple BSSs carry out simultaneous UL transmissions.Un-used receive spatial dimensions at the AP may be used to null theinterference from the other BSS (OBSS) transmissions. This enables agreater degree of spatial multiplexing when there are un-used spatialdimension within the BSS. In other words, the un-used spatial dimensionsmay allow for concurrent OBSS transmissions in DL.

FIG. 5A illustrates a communication system using coordinated DL MU-MIMO,in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Asillustrated, the signal from each AP is transmitted to only stationswithin their respective BSSs, as shown by the solid lines representingdata transmissions from the AP the STAs that are associated with the AP.The data transmissions from the APs cause interference to the other OBSSstations, as illustrated by the dotted lines. Un-used dimensions at theAP may be used to get rid of (e.g., null out) interference from OBSSAPs.

In uplink (UL) multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO),multiple stations may belong to one basic service set (BSS) transmittingin the UL. Other BSSs in hearing range may defer to an on-goingtransmission. Different BSSs in hearing range of each other may usetime-divisional multiplexing (TDM) to transmit in the UL. In coordinatedUL MU-MIMO, multiple BSSs carry out simultaneous UL transmissions. Aswith DL MU-MIMO, un-used receive spatial dimensions at an AP may be usedto null the interference from the other BSS (OBSS) transmissions,enabling a greater degree of spatial multiplexing and allowing forconcurrent OBSS transmissions.

FIG. 5B illustrates a communication system using coordinated UL MU-MIMO,in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Asillustrated, the signal from each station is transmitted to only one APwithin their respective BSSs, as shown by the solid lines representingdata transmissions to the AP the STAs are associated with. The datatransmissions from the STAs cause interference to the other OBSS APs, asillustrated by the dotted lines. Un-used dimensions at each AP may beused to get rid of (e.g., null out) interference from OBSS STAs.

FIG. 6 is a line graph indicating example transmission rates versus pathloss (PL). The line graph shows the opportunistic nature of gains, inaccordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

As shown, the gains of CoBF in DL may be considered opportunistic innature, and may happen when certain conditions hold. For example, onesuch condition may include when the system has a few users to serve inthe system's own BSS which are not fully utilizing the APs spatialmultiplexing ability. In this case, nulls may be formed to someadditional spatial modes, which may allow concurrent transmissions in anOBSS.

As a specific, but non-limiting example, each BSS AP in a 2 BSS system,equipped with eight Tx antennas, may have only two STAs with traffic,each STA having 2 Rx antennas. The system may then provide CoBFtransmissions simultaneously in the 2 BSSs with a certain streamallocation. In other words, an AP may demultiplex and extract thetransmission intended for it and discard transmission not intended forit. For example, a [2 1 2 1] stream allocation may be provided where atotal number of own BSS streams plus the streams to null is equal to0.75*Ntx.

For comparison, FIG. 6 also plots the joint processing curve for a [2 22 2] stream allocation and a ‘MU-MIMO+TDM’ curve for a [2 2] streamallocation. The four numbers provided in brackets represent streamallocations to the four STAs in the joint processing cases. In the TDMcase, there are only two numbers in the brackets because only 2 STAs arebeing served at any given time.

Example of Downlink (DL) Coordinated Beamforming Protocols for WiFi

In accordance with one or more aspects of embodiments disclosed herein,downlink (DL) coordinated beamforming protocols for WiFi is provided. Inone or more cases, coordinated beamforming (CoBF) may include one ormore protocols for coordinating (e.g., synchronizing) transmissions fromdifferent entities. Particularly, CoBF may form nulls to controlinterference to other cells (BSSs) while transmitting to own cell (BSS)user(s).

Due to the nulling, only broad synchronization may be needed in thesecases. For example, the arrival time spreads at a STA may need to beabsorbed in the CP. However, even if arrival time spreads are beyond theCP, one may see graceful degradation in gains. Thus, stringent symboltiming and strict phase/frequency synchronization across APs may not beimplemented. This broad synchronization of CoBF schemes is in contrastto joint processing (JT) schemes where the signals at different APs needto be synchronized in a very tight manner.

According to one or more cases, CoBF protocol requirements and designmay be provided in accordance with a number of related embodiments, eachof which may include one or more relatively loose synchronizationprotocols, as discussed herein. Further, in one or more cases, even whenit may be assumed that no strong backhaul is present, CoBF protocols asdisclosed herein may still be implemented. In these cases, the channelstate information (CSI) from a STA to an AP's antennas may need to besent to the relevant AP (e.g., the AP that needs that CSI to select itsbeamforming vectors), rather than sending the CSI of a STA for antennasof all APs to just one AP and expecting that one AP to disseminate it toother APs through the backhaul.

In coordinated BF, the BF direction of one AP may not depend on thechannels between STAs and other APs. Additionally, each AP may work tominimize its interference to non-served STAs (e.g., STAs of OBSSs).Hence, loose phase/time/frequency synchronization among APs may besufficient to enable joint transmissions.

In accordance with one or more cases, a variety of sounding options maybe implemented to enable the generation and feedback of CSI. Asillustrative but non-limiting examples, two high level sounding optionsfor explicit sounding with each including three sub-options aredescribed herein.

As will be described in greater detail below, the high level soundingoptions may include sequential sounding and joint sounding. Sequentialsounding may involve one null data packet (NDP) transmission per AP andmay sound one AP at a time. In these cases, existing sounding sequences(e.g., 802.11ax sounding sequences) may be leveraged with certainmodifications. As an example modification, a null data packetannouncement (NDPA) may need to address even OBSS STAs). Joint soundingmay use one NDP to sound Tx chains of all the APs. Joint sounding mayuse slightly less overhead due to certain preamble savings. The NDP maybe TDM′d, CDM′d (P matrix), or FDM′d among Tx chains of all APs.

Further additional sounding options may include one or more implicitsounding options. For example, as will be described below with referenceto FIGS. 15-17, an implicit sounding option may include separate UL NDPper STA and/or joint UL NDP from all STAs.

FIG. 7 a flow diagram of example operations 700 for wirelesscommunications by an apparatus, in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure. For example, operations 700 may be performed by anaccess point (AP) participating in CoBF.

Operations 700 begin, at 702, by outputting at least one first frame fortransmission to solicit channel state information (CSI) feedback fromeach of one or more first wireless nodes associated with a first basicservice set (BSS) and from each of one or more second wireless nodesassociated with a second BSS.

At 704, the apparatus obtains the CSI feedback solicited from the firstand second wireless nodes. At 706, the apparatus generates one or moredata frames for the first wireless nodes and to select beamformingvectors for transmitting the data frames, based on at least the CSIfeedback solicited from the first wireless nodes and the CSI feedbacksolicited from the second wireless nodes. At 708, the apparatus outputsthe data frames for beamformed transmission to the first wireless nodesusing the selected beamforming vectors.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of example operations 800 for wirelesscommunication by an apparatus, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure. Operations 800 may be performed, for example, by aSTA.

The operations 800 begin, at 802, by obtaining at least one first framefrom a first wireless node associated with a first basic service set(BSS) and to obtain at least one second frame from a second wirelessnode associated with a second BSS.

At 804, the apparatus generates first channel state information (CSI)feedback based on the first frame and to generate second CSI feedbackbased on the second frame. At 806, the apparatus outputs the first CSIfeedback for transmission to the first wireless node and to output thesecond CSI feedback for transmission to the second wireless node.

FIG. 9 illustrates a communication protocol (referred to herein as A1)for CoBF utilizing explicit sounding, in accordance with certain aspectsof the present disclosure. FIG. 9 shows a communication protocol thatincludes sequential NDP transmissions, such that one AP at a timetransmits an NDPA and NDP. In one or more embodiments, it may be assumedthat group formation has taken place before the NDPA transmission shown.Assuming the group formation has taken place, the NDPA transmission mayidentify all STAs and number streams being allocated to each STA.

The NDPA may also serve the purpose of announcing the NDP transmissionand may serve as a synchronization message as well. In one or morecases, as shown, an optional trigger frame may be provided after theNDPA and NDP transmissions. In some cases, the trigger frame indicateswhen the different stations should send the solicited CSI feedback. Thestations (STA1 through STA4) may then respond by transmitting feedbackusing UL MU-MIMO to the corresponding AP that sent the NDPA and NDP.Using the CSI provided during this feedback portion of the protocol,distributed transmissions may follow along with acknowledgements asshown.

As shown in FIG. 9, a master AP may transmit NDPA and NDP (and may ormay not also transmit the optional trigger frame). In response, thestations (STA1 through STA4) may respond to the master AP with feedbackusing UL MU-MIMO that contains information for channels to the master APonly. The slave AP may then transmit NDPA and NDP (along with theoptional trigger frame). The stations (STA1 through STA4) may thenrespond to the slave AP with feedback using UL MU-MIMO that containsinformation for channels to the slave AP only.

In some embodiments, an optional trigger for carrier frequency offset(CFO) and/or timing synchronization may be transmitted as shown that mayallow for group or stream allocation adjustment. What follows then isdistributed transmissions (Distr MU Tx) and acknowledgements (ACK) fromthe stations (STA1 through STA4). The acknowledgements may be sent usingUL MU MIMO (e.g., via OFDMA). In one or more cases the ACKs of the twoBSSs may be sent in parallel using coordinated UL MU-MIMO.

FIG. 10 illustrates a communication protocol (referred to herein as A2)for CoBF including explicit sounding, in accordance with certain aspectsof the present disclosure. Particularly, FIG. 10 shows sequential NDPalong with UL MU-MIMO where both APs receive all four feedback streamswithout nulling. Again, in this example, it may be assumed that groupformation has taken place before NDPA, such that the NDPA may identifyall stations STAs and number streams being allocated to each station.

As shown in FIG. 10, the master AP and the slave AP may transmit theirrespective NDPA and NDP sequentially. This may be follow by an optionaltrigger frame. In this example, the stations (STA1, STA2, STA3, andSTA4) may each then transmit feedback using UL MU-MIMO that containsinformation for channels to both to both the master AP and the slave AP.This may be done using a single protocol data unit (PDU), such as aphysical PDU (PPDU), as shown in the figure. These feedbacktransmissions may then be followed by the optional trigger forCFO/Timing synchronization that may allow for group or stream allocationadjustments.

What follows then may include distributed transmissions (Distr MU Tx)and acknowledgements (ACK) from the stations (STA1 through STA4). Asillustrated, in some cases, the acknowledgements may be sent using UL MU(can be OFDMA). In one or more cases the ACKs of the two BSSs may besent in parallel using coordinated UL MU-MIMO.

Rate and power control may be complex with the communication protocolsA1 and A2, as disclosed in FIGS. 9 and 10. Therefore, other variationson these protocols may be provided in accordance with certain aspects.As an example, in protocol A1 and A2, the UL MU-MIMO feedback mayconsist of STAs 1, 2, 3 and 4 transmitting their CSI to the AP together.An AP may receive UL MU-MIMO with STAs of its own BSS and STAs of anOBSS. However, the powers of in-BSS and OBSS STAs might be verydifferent, making rate and power control more complex.

Accordingly, one or more other variations may be provided fortransmitting the CSI feedback that may help avoid or reduce thiscomplexity. For example, another communication protocol (referred to asA3) as shown in FIG. 11, may have stations from different BSSs transmitat different times. For example, STA1 and STA2 may transmit to their AP,while STA3 and STA4 transmit to their AP at a first time, followed byboth pairs transmitting to their OBSS APs at a second time. In thiscase, both APs may use some of the dimensions to null out the unwantedstreams in CSI feedback. For example the APs may use coordinated ULMU-MIMO to provide dual of CoBF in the DL.

Aspects of the present disclosure provide various ways to multiplex NDPsfrom different APs or transmissions from STAs at the same time. Forexample, using frequency division multiplexing (FDM), each stream may beallocated different tones in each long training field (LTF) symbol, withthe AP demultiplexing the streams prior to performing the channelestimation (extracting streams of interest and discarding others). Insome cases, along with FDM, a beam steering matrix (P-matrix) may beused to spatially multiplex the streams of an AP, while different APsare allocated non-overlapping tones. As an alternative, all streams(from all APs) could be multiplexed using a large P-matrix. Using timedivision multiplexing (TDM), one stream may be allocated one LTF. ThisTDM approach could be combined with P-matrix multiplexing, for example,with one AP's streams multiplexed using a P-matrix, while different APsare active on different LTF symbols.

The communication protocol (A3) shown in FIG. 11 includes sequential NDPand coordinated UL MU-MIMO where multiple APs receive CSI feedbacktogether while using spatial dimensions to null out some streams. Again,it may be assumed that group formation has taken place before the NDPAtransmission, such that the NDPA transmission may identify all STAs andnumber streams being allocated to each STA. Further, the NDPA may servethe purpose of announcing the NDP transmission and may serve as asynchronization message as well. In one or more cases, an optionaltrigger frame may be provided after the NDPA and NDP transmissions asshown. The stations (STA1 through STA4) may then respond by transmittingfeedback using UL MU-MIMO back to the corresponding AP that sent theNDPA and NDP. After this feedback portion of the protocol distributedtransmissions may follow along with acknowledgements as shown.

For example, a master AP may transmit NDPA, NDP, and an optional triggerframe, followed by a slave AP transmitting its own NDPA and NDP. Thestations STA1 and STA2 (associated with the master AP) may then, at afirst time, transmit feedback using UL MU-MIMO to the master AP thatcontains channels to the master AP only. In the illustrated example, atthe same first time, feedback from stations STA3 and STA4 (associatedwith the slave AP) was also sent to the slave AP that contains channelsto slave AP only.

At a second time, the stations STA1-STA4 switch and STA1 and STA2transmit to the slave AP, while STA3 and STA4 transmit to the master AP,as shown, using separate PPDUs. An optional trigger frame may betransmitted between the first and second time by the master AP as shown.What follows then may include distributed transmissions (Distr MU Tx)and acknowledgements (ACK) from the stations (STA1 through STA4). Theacknowledgements may be sent using UL MU (e.g., OFDMA). In one or morecases, the ACKs of the two BSSs may be sent in parallel usingcoordinated UL MU-MIMO.

Various options may be provided for the communication protocol optionsA1-A3 described above. For example, for the communication protocol A1,one BSS at a time may provide a collection of CSI feedbacks from allSTAs. For the communication protocol A2, all STAs may transmit CSItogether in a combined packet that contains CSI to all APs. For thecommunication protocol A3, STAs may transmit to their own APs first andto OBSS APs. In one or more cases, dual triggers (one from each AP)before a set of UL feedbacks may be implemented. Further, exact location(in time) of triggers may vary from the ones shown in FIGS. 9-11.

FIG. 12 illustrates another example communication protocol (referred toas B1) for CoBF including explicit sounding, in accordance with certainaspects of the present disclosure. As shown, the communication protocolmay include joint NDP (NDP transmitted jointly from both APs), regularUL MU-MIMO, and separate feedback packets. For example, all the APs maybe sounded with one NDP. The master AP may then receive feedback fromall stations (STA1-STA4) using UL MU-MIMO at a first time that containschannels to the master AP only. The slave AP may then receive feedbackfrom stations STA1-STA4 using UL MU-MIMO at a second time that containschannels to the slave AP only.

These feedback transmissions may then be followed by an optional triggerfor CFO/Timing synchronization that may allow for group or streamallocation adjustments. What follows then may include distributedtransmissions (Distr MU Tx) and acknowledgements (ACKs) from thestations (STA1 through STA4), which may be sent using UL MU (e.g.,OFDMA). In one or more cases, the ACKs of the two BSSs may be sent inparallel using coordinated UL MU-MIMO.

FIG. 13 illustrates another example communication protocol (referred toas B2) for CoBF including explicit sounding, in accordance with certainaspects of the present disclosure. As shown, the communication protocolB2 may include joint NDP, regular UL MU-MIMO, and combined feedbackpackets. For example, all the APs may be sounded with one NDP. Themaster AP and slave AP may then both receive feedback from stationsSTA1-STA4 using UL MU-MIMO at a first time that contains channels toboth master and slave APs using a single PPDU.

These feedback transmissions may then be followed by an optional triggerfor CFO/Timing synchronization that may allow for group or streamallocation adjustments. What follows then may include distributedtransmissions (Distr MU Tx) and acknowledgements (ACKs) from thestations (STA1 through STA4). The acknowledgements may be sent using ULMU (e.g., OFDMA). In one or more cases, the ACKs of the two BSSs may besent in parallel using coordinated UL MU-MIMO.

FIG. 14 illustrates another example communication protocol (B3) for CoBFincluding explicit sounding, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure. As shown, the communication protocol may includejoint NDP, coordinated UL MU-MIMO, and separate feedback packets. Forexample, all the APs may be sounded with one NDP. The master AP may thenreceive feedback from stations STA1 and STA2 using UL MU-MIMO at a firsttime that contains channels to master AP only. The slave AP may receivefeedback from stations STA3 and STA4 using UL MU-MIMO at the same firsttime that contains channels to the slave AP only. At a second(subsequent) time, the master AP may receive feedback from STA3 andSTA4, while the slave AP receives feedback from STA1 and STA2 as shown.

These feedback transmissions may then be followed by an optional triggerfor CFO/Timing synchronization that may allow for group or streamallocation adjustments. What follows then may include distributedtransmissions (Distr MU Tx) and acknowledgements (ACK) from the stations(STA1 through STA4). The acknowledgements may be sent using UL MU (e.g.,OFDMA). In one or more cases, the ACKs of the two BSSs may be sent inparallel using coordinated UL MU-MIMO.

Various options may be provided for the communication protocol optionsB1-B3 described above For example, for the communication protocol B1,one BSS at a time may provide collection of CSI feedbacks from all STAsalong with a joint NDP. For the communication protocol B2, all STAs maytransmit CSI together in a combined packet that contains CSI to all APsalong with a joint NDP. For the communication protocol B3, STAs maytransmit to their own APs first and then they may transmit to their OBSSAPs along with joint NDP. In one or more cases, dual triggers (one fromeach AP) before a set of UL feedbacks may be implemented. Further, exactlocation (in time) of triggers may vary from the ones shown in FIGS.12-14.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow diagram of example operations 1500 forwireless communications by an apparatus, in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. For example, operations 1500 may be performed byan AP, such as a master AP.

Operations 1500 begin, at 1502, by outputting at least one first framefor transmission to solicit a sounding frame from each of one or morefirst wireless nodes associated with a first basic service set (BSS) andeach of one or more second wireless nodes associated with a second BSS.

At 1504, the apparatus obtains the sounding frames from each of thefirst and second wireless nodes. At 1506, the apparatus performs channelestimation for each of the first and second wireless nodes based on thesounding frames.

At 1508, the apparatus generates one or more data frames for the firstwireless nodes and selects beamforming vectors for transmitting the dataframes, based at least on the channel estimation performed for the firstand second wireless nodes. At 1510, the apparatus outputs the generateddata frames for beamformed transmission to the first wireless nodesusing the selected beamforming vectors.

FIG. 16 illustrates a communication protocol (C1) including implicitsounding that includes separate NDP for each station. In other words, asillustrated, one station at a time transmits UL NDP transmissions. Inone or more embodiments, it may be assumed that group formation may takeplace over the air (OTA) or over the backhaul. The DL channel estimation(used for subsequent Distributed DL transmissions) may therefore rely onthe UL NDP from the STAs.

These UL NDP transmissions may then be followed by the optional triggerfor CFO/Timing synchronization that may allow for group or streamallocation adjustments. What follows then may include distributedtransmissions (Distr MU Tx) and acknowledgements (ACK) from the stations(STA1 through STA4). The acknowledgements may be sent using UL MU (e.g.,OFDMA). In one or more cases, the ACKs of the two BSSs may be sent inparallel using coordinated UL MU-MIMO.

FIG. 17 illustrates a communication protocol (C2) including implicitsounding that includes joint NDP for all stations such that all stations(STA1-STA4) transmit the UL NDP transmissions at one time. In thisexample, the DL channel estimation may therefore rely on the UL NDPssimultaneously sent from all of the STAs.

These UL NDP transmissions may then be followed by the optional triggerfor CFO/Timing synchronization that may allow for group or streamallocation adjustments. What follows then may include distributedtransmissions (Distr MU Tx) and acknowledgements (ACK) from the stations(STA1 through STA4). As previously noted, the ACKs of the two BSSs maybe sent in parallel using coordinated UL MU-MIMO.

In one or more cases, when the NDPs are being sent together incommunication protocol option Ce as shown in FIG. 17, the LTFs may bemultiplexed using any of the techniques described above with referenceto DL NDPs transmitted from multiple APs (e.g., FDM, P-matrix, and/orTDM).

In one or more cases, ACKs may be sent in one BSS using UL MU-MIMO andsequentially across BSSs. In some cases. ACKs may be sent using OFDMA aswell. Further, in some cases, the ACKs of multiple BSSs may be senttogether as well, for example, using coordinated UL MU-MIMO, coordinatedUL OFDMA, or a mixture thereof.

Calibration for implicit sounding may be provided that is designed to beno more complicated than other types of calibration. For example,because each AP may use separate precoding, the gain/phase mismatch ofevery AP's Tx and Rx chains may be calibrated separately. Suchcalibration may be performed only occasionally (e.g., only once everyfew hours). Further, a number of different variations of calibration maybe implemented, such as STA assisted, AP assisted, and/orself-calibration. STA assisted calibration may include an AP thatexchanges messages with a STA that it has good link budget with. APassisted calibration may include an AP that exchanges messages withanother AP that it has good link budget with.

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions forachieving the described method. The method steps and/or actions may beinterchanged with one another without departing from the scope of theclaims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions isspecified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may bemodified without departing from the scope of the claims.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples ofthe same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b,b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c). Asused herein, including in the claims, the term “and/or,” when used in alist of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can beemployed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listeditems can be employed. For example, if a composition is described ascontaining components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain Aalone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination;B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like.Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receiving information),accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,“determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishingand the like.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” For example, the articles “a” and“an” as used in this application and the appended claims shouldgenerally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwiseor clear from the context to be directed to a singular form. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more.Moreover, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom the context, the phrase, for example, “X employs A or B” isintended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, forexample the phrase “X employs A or B” is satisfied by any of thefollowing instances: X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A andB. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of thevarious aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known orlater come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is tobe construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph,unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or,in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase“step for.”

The various operations of methods described above may be performed byany suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions.The means may include various hardware and/or software component(s)and/or module(s), including, but not limited to a circuit, anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or processor. Generally,where there are operations illustrated in figures, those operations mayhave corresponding counterpart means-plus-function components withsimilar numbering. For example, operations 700, 800, and 1500illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8, and 15 correspond to means 700A, 800A, and1500A illustrated in FIGS. 7A, 8A, and 15A, respectively.

For example, means for transmitting (or means for outputting fortransmission) may comprise a transmitter (e.g., the transmitter unit222) and/or an antenna(s) 224 of the access point 110 or the transmitterunit 254 and/or antenna(s) 252 of the station 120 illustrated in FIG. 2.Means for receiving (or means for obtaining) may comprise a receiver(e.g., the receiver unit 222) and/or an antenna(s) 224 of the accesspoint 110 or the receiver unit 254 and/or antenna(s) 252 of the station120 illustrated in FIG. 2. Means for processing, means for extracting,means for performing channel estimation, means for demultiplexing, meansfor obtaining, means for generating, means for selecting, means fordecoding, means for deciding, means for demultiplexing, means fordiscarding, or means for determining, may comprise a processing system,which may include one or more processors, such as the RX data processor242, the TX data processor 210, the TX spatial processor 220, and/or thecontroller 230 of the access point 110 or the RX data processor 270, theTX data processor 288, the TX spatial processor 290, and/or thecontroller 280 of the station 120 illustrated in FIG. 2.

In some cases, rather than actually transmitting a frame a device mayhave an interface to output a frame for transmission (a means foroutputting). For example, a processor may output a frame, via a businterface, to a radio frequency (RF) front end for transmission.Similarly, rather than actually receiving a frame, a device may have aninterface to obtain a frame received from another device (a means forobtaining). For example, a processor may obtain (or receive) a frame,via a bus interface, from an RF front end for reception.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits describedin connection with the present disclosure may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD),discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration maycomprise a processing system in a wireless node. The processing systemmay be implemented with a bus architecture. The bus may include anynumber of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specificapplication of the processing system and the overall design constraints.The bus may link together various circuits including a processor,machine-readable media, and a bus interface. The bus interface may beused to connect a network adapter, among other things, to the processingsystem via the bus. The network adapter may be used to implement thesignal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the case of a userterminal 120 (see FIG. 1), a user interface (e.g., keypad, display,mouse, joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus mayalso link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals,voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which arewell known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further.The processor may be implemented with one or more general-purpose and/orspecial-purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors,microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuitry that can executesoftware. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implementthe described functionality for the processing system depending on theparticular application and the overall design constraints imposed on theoverall system.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmittedover as one or more instructions or code on a computer readable medium.Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, data, or anycombination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.Computer-readable media include both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. The processor may beresponsible for managing the bus and general processing, including theexecution of software modules stored on the machine-readable storagemedia. A computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to a processorsuch that the processor can read information from, and write informationto, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may beintegral to the processor. By way of example, the machine-readable mediamay include a transmission line, a carrier wave modulated by data,and/or a computer readable storage medium with instructions storedthereon separate from the wireless node, all of which may be accessed bythe processor through the bus interface. Alternatively, or in addition,the machine-readable media, or any portion thereof, may be integratedinto the processor, such as the case may be with cache and/or generalregister files. Examples of machine-readable storage media may include,by way of example, RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, phasechange memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-OnlyMemory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM(Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), registers,magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitablestorage medium, or any combination thereof. The machine-readable mediamay be embodied in a computer-program product.

A software module may comprise a single instruction, or manyinstructions, and may be distributed over several different codesegments, among different programs, and across multiple storage media.The computer-readable media may comprise a number of software modules.The software modules include instructions that, when executed by anapparatus such as a processor, cause the processing system to performvarious functions. The software modules may include a transmissionmodule and a receiving module. Each software module may reside in asingle storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices.By way of example, a software module may be loaded into RAM from a harddrive when a triggering event occurs. During execution of the softwaremodule, the processor may load some of the instructions into cache toincrease access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into ageneral register file for execution by the processor. When referring tothe functionality of a software module below, it will be understood thatsuch functionality is implemented by the processor when executinginstructions from that software module.

Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. Forexample, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or otherremote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared(IR), radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, andmicrowave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, asused herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray® disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Thus, in some aspects computer-readable media maycomprise non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media).In addition, for other aspects computer-readable media may comprisetransitory computer-readable media (e.g., a signal). Combinations of theabove should also be included within the scope of computer-readablemedia.

Thus, certain aspects may comprise a computer program product forperforming the operations presented herein. For example, such a computerprogram product may comprise a computer-readable medium havinginstructions stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions beingexecutable by one or more processors to perform the operations describedherein. For example, instructions for performing the operationsdescribed herein and illustrated in the appended figures.

Further, it should be appreciated that modules and/or other appropriatemeans for performing the methods and techniques described herein can bedownloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and/or basestation as applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to aserver to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the methodsdescribed herein. Alternatively, various methods described herein can beprovided via storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage mediumsuch as a compact disc (CD) or floppy disk, etc.), such that a userterminal and/or base station can obtain the various methods uponcoupling or providing the storage means to the device. Moreover, anyother suitable technique for providing the methods and techniquesdescribed herein to a device can be utilized.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the preciseconfiguration and components illustrated above. Various modifications,changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the methods and apparatus described above without departingfrom the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for wireless communications,comprising: a first interface configured to output at least one firstframe for transmission to solicit channel state information (CSI)feedback from each of one or more first wireless nodes associated with afirst basic service set (BSS) and from each of one or more secondwireless nodes associated with a second BSS; a second interfaceconfigured to obtain the CSI feedback solicited from the first andsecond wireless nodes; and a processing system configured to generateone or more data frames for the first wireless nodes and to selectbeamforming vectors for transmitting the data frames, based on at leastthe CSI feedback solicited from the first wireless nodes and the CSIfeedback solicited from the second wireless nodes, wherein the firstinterface is also configured to output the data frames for beamformedtransmission to the first wireless nodes using the selected beamformingvectors.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one firstframe comprises a sounding frame with one or more training fields forthe first wireless nodes and the second wireless nodes to use ingenerating the solicited CSI feedback.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the at least one first frame comprises at least one triggerframe that indicates when the first wireless nodes and the secondwireless nodes should send the solicited CSI feedback.
 4. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the solicited CSI feedback is obtainedsimultaneously from the first wireless nodes and the second wirelessnodes.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein: the solicited CSI feedbackfrom each of the first wireless nodes and the second wireless nodes isincluded in a physical layer protocol data unit (PDU) that also includesCSI feedback generated based on a sounding frame transmitted by anotherapparatus associated with the second BSS; and the processing system isconfigured to extract the solicited CSI feedback from the PDU anddiscard the CSI feedback generated based on the sounding frametransmitted by the other apparatus associated with the second BSS. 6.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the solicited CSI feedback isobtained from the first wireless nodes in a first time interval; and thesolicited CSI feedback is obtained from the second wireless nodes in asecond time interval that does not overlap with the first time interval.7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: the solicited CSI feedback fromthe second wireless nodes is obtained in a single protocol data unit(PDU) that also includes CSI feedback intended for another apparatus;the solicited CSI feedback from the first wireless nodes is obtained inanother single PDU that also includes CSI feedback intended for theother apparatus; and the processing system is configured to discard theCSI feedback from the second wireless nodes intended for the otherapparatus and to discard the CSI feedback from the first wireless nodesintended for the other apparatus.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:the at least one first frame comprises a first sounding frame with oneor more training fields for the first wireless nodes and the secondwireless nodes to use in generating the solicited CSI feedback; and thefirst sounding frame is output for transmission jointly with a secondsound frame from another apparatus associated with the second BSS. 9.The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one antenna viawhich the first frame and data frames are output for transmission andvia which the CSI feedback from the first wireless nodes and the secondwireless nodes is obtained, wherein the apparatus is configured as awireless device.
 10. An apparatus for wireless communications,comprising: a first interface configured to obtain at least one firstframe from a first wireless node associated with a first basic serviceset (BSS) and to obtain at least one second frame from a second wirelessnode associated with a second BSS, wherein the at least one first frameidentifies a plurality of stations (STAs) and a number of transmissionstreams allocated to each STA of the plurality of STAs for generatingchannel state information (CSI) feedback; a processing system configuredto generate first channel state information (CSI) feedback based on thefirst frame and to generate second CSI feedback based on the secondframe; and a second interface configured to output the first CSIfeedback for transmission to the first wireless node and to output thesecond CSI feedback for transmission to the second wireless node. 11.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein: the at least one first framecomprises a first sounding frame with one or more first training fields;and the processing system is configured to generate the first CSIfeedback based on the one or more first training fields.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein: the at least one second frame comprisesa second sounding frame, obtained simultaneously with the first soundingframe, comprising one or more second training fields; and the processingsystem is configured to generate the second CSI feedback based on theone or more second training fields.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10,wherein: the at least one first frame comprises at least one triggerframe; and the second interface is configured to output the first CSIfeedback for transmission in response to the trigger frame.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the first CSI feedback and the second CSIfeedback are both output for transmission in a single physical layerprotocol data unit (PDU).
 15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein: thefirst CSI feedback is output for transmission in a first transmissiontime interval; and the second CSI feedback is output for transmission ina second transmission time interval.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein: the first CSI feedback is output for transmission in the firsttransmission time interval via multiple user multiple input multipleoutput (MU-MIMO) transmission simultaneously with CSI feedback fromanother apparatus; and the second CSI feedback is output fortransmission in the second transmission time interval via MU-MIMOtransmission simultaneously with CSI feedback from the other apparatus.17. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising at least one antennavia which the first frame and the second frame are obtained and viawhich the first CSI feedback and the second CSI feedback are output fortransmission, wherein the apparatus is configured as a wireless device.18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one second frameidentifies the plurality of STAs and the number of transmission streamsallocated to each STA of the plurality of STAs for generating the CSIfeedback.
 19. An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising: afirst interface configured to output at least one first frame fortransmission to solicit a sounding frame from each of one or more firstwireless nodes associated with a first basic service set (BSS) and eachof one or more second wireless nodes associated with a second BSS; asecond interface configured to obtain the sounding frames from each ofthe first wireless nodes and the second wireless nodes; and a processingsystem configured to perform channel estimation for each of the firstand second wireless nodes based on the sounding frames; and generate oneor more data frames for the first wireless nodes and to selectbeamforming vectors for transmitting the data frames, based at least onthe channel estimation performed for the first and second wirelessnodes, wherein the first interface is also configured to output the dataframes for beamformed transmission to the first wireless nodes using theselected beamforming vectors.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein thesecond interface is configured to obtain each of the sounding frames ina separate time interval.
 21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein: thesecond interface is configured to obtain the sounding framessimultaneously; each sounding frame comprises at least one trainingfield; and the processing system is configured to demultiplex trainingfields from the each of the sounding frames prior to performing thechannel estimation.